Gatesville Company #2

[Patrick M]

Well, judging from the "Speakeasy" thread here, there's at least a few of you buying The Gatesville Company. Hooray! For those who haven't heard of it, this is a series from Speakeasy written by Marc Bryant and drawn/painted by me, Patrick McEvoy. Gatesville is a ghost town, where recently deceased killers come to perform a final task on their way to the afterlife. The outcome decides their fate!

Issue #2 is due out this month, so here's a little preview, if you're interested. If you like what you see, be sure to order it from your local store. Odds are you won't find a copy unless you do, distribution being what it is... :P You can also buy a copy direct from Speakeasy Comics (http://www.speakeasycomics.com).

In this issue we meet Simone Weaver, a professional interrogator skilled in the art of torture. She comes to town for her final session, but her subject may give her more answers than she ever bargained for...

cover (http://www.gatesvillecompany.com/gatesville2/cover.jpg)
page 1 (http://www.gatesvillecompany.com/gatesville2/page01.jpg)
page 2 (http://www.gatesvillecompany.com/gatesville2/page02.jpg)
page 3 (http://www.gatesvillecompany.com/gatesville2/page03.jpg)
page 4 (http://www.gatesvillecompany.com/gatesville2/page04.jpg)

Lemme know what you think!

[metr0man]

Niiiice artwork there dude.

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by metr0man
Niiiice artwork there dude.

Hey, thanks, Metr0! There's some passsages later in the book as we enter Simone's world of torture (or, questioning as she'd likely call it) where I did some different stuff with the colors and mood. I hope everyone enjoys it - I like playing around with that stort of thing! Oh, and the story kicks some ass, too... :cool:

[Patrick M]

By the way, I forgot to mention the spectacular lettering by everybody's favorite indy artist (and frequent Marc Bryant collaborator) Mal Jones, the third cog in our well-oiled machine!

[Electric Glove]

Originally posted by Patrick M
If you like what you see, be sure to order it from your local store. Odds are you won't find a copy unless you do, distribution being what it is... :P

You should really make sure you keep up the heat, becuase both of the shops closest to me seem to have dropped almost all of the Speakeasy titles.

[Allen Jaco]

The first issue was really, really good. This book is basically on my permanent pull

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Allen Jaco
The first issue was really, really good. This book is basically on my permanent pull

Allen, you are AWESOME! Thanks - we're working hard on each issue, so I hope you like #2 (and 3!) just as much or more.

[marc_bryant]

Originally posted by Electric Glove
You should really make sure you keep up the heat, becuase both of the shops closest to me seem to have dropped almost all of the Speakeasy titles.

Glad to hear it :-) Hope #2 keeps you in our corner.

[marc_bryant]

Originally posted by Allen Jaco
The first issue was really, really good. This book is basically on my permanent pull

Glad to hear it :-) Hope #2 keeps you in our corner.

[Royal Nonesuch]

Looks good. I've been meaning to pick up #1, but money is a factor right now. Still, I'm sure I'll order the first two (at least) issues soon enough. Speakeasy's got some great stuff coming out.

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Royal Nonesuch
Looks good. I've been meaning to pick up #1, but money is a factor right now. Still, I'm sure I'll order the first two (at least) issues soon enough. Speakeasy's got some great stuff coming out.

Hey, that's great to hear! If you can't find the first issue (or the second) when you want it, don't forget that Speakeasy.com has a store where Gatesville will be available whenever you're ready!

[Royal Nonesuch]

Originally posted by Patrick M
Hey, that's great to hear! If you can't find the first issue (or the second) when you want it, don't forget that Speakeasy.com has a store where Gatesville will be available whenever you're ready!

Thanks for the heads up. I actually came this close to dropping a ton of money into that Speakeasy store a few weeks ago. Too much interesting stuff there! ;)

By the way, that link in your sig doesn't work. I think you've got a space in between the "http://" and the w's that shouldn't be there.

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Royal Nonesuch
Thanks for the heads up. I actually came this close to dropping a ton of money into that Speakeasy store a few weeks ago. Too much interesting stuff there! ;)

By the way, that link in your sig doesn't work. I think you've got a space in between the "http://" and the w's that shouldn't be there.

D'oh!! Got it working now - thanks for letting me know! :)

[Patrick M]

After over two months of production delays, GATESVILLE COMPANY #2 finally came out this week! Thanks to all who waited patiently (or impatiently!), and I hope you take this opportunity to check it out while it's on the stands. If you read it and want to comment, please feel free to leave a post here, and I'll be sure to reply in my own semi-literate fashion... :)

[Royal Nonesuch]

Thanks for the heads up, Patrick. As promised earlier, I'll be ordering this issue, along with the last one this week. I look forward to reading them, the concept's great, and your artwork's killer!.

[Patrick M]

Hey, that's great, RN! Be sure to come back and lemme know what you thought after you get 'm. :)

[Kristin]

I'll have my copy waiting for me at the shop. Great work, guys! Keep 'em coming.

[Royal Nonesuch]

Ok, I got the first issue (#2 is on back order, so I'm going to have to wait a while longer for that) and thought it was pretty good. The premise is an interesting one with some good dialogue, and the art, as the previews indicated, was awesome. I particularly loved the panel that showed Kazuo and Combs' faces separated by the sword, which was rendered in negative space. The colors are gorgeous. Are they done entirely in Photoshop?

Anyway, although Kazuo somehow became Kasuo and back to Kazuo again (:D), I'll be sticking with the book, and can't wait for the second issue to get here. Any work on when #3 hits?

Thanks for the heads up, and best of luck to Marc, Patrick, and the rest of the Gatesville Company!

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Royal Nonesuch
Ok, I got the first issue (#2 is on back order, so I'm going to have to wait a while longer for that) and thought it was pretty good. The premise is an interesting one with some good dialogue, and the art, as the previews indicated, was awesome. I particularly loved the panel that showed Kazuo and Combs' faces separated by the sword, which was rendered in negative space. The colors are gorgeous. Are they done entirely in Photoshop?

Anyway, although Kazuo somehow became Kasuo and back to Kazuo again (:D), I'll be sticking with the book, and can't wait for the second issue to get here. Any work on when #3 hits?

Thanks for the heads up, and best of luck to Marc, Patrick, and the rest of the Gatesville Company!

Well first - thanks! Thanks for liking it and MOSTLY for buying it. That means a lot to us and it's really the only way independant creators like us can stay doing what we do.

Glad you like the art - it is done mostly in PhotoShop. I start with pencils, which I take into PS and color roughly (with the pencils on "multiply"), one panel at a time as a complete piece. Then I take the panel into Painter (usually) to add some paint and smudge effects, then back into PhotoShop for detailing and color correction. Finally I composite the panels together into the full page. It's time-consuming but I like the outcome and I'm happy you do to.

The sword panel was one of those things I hope to do more of as I work in comics (this was my VERY first book!). That is, things you can only do effectively in comics form, putting the visuals together with the storytelling so you don't know where one ends and the other begins. Marc is a great collaborator for this sort of thing because he's like, "yeah, do it" whenever I come up with a silly idea.

Oh those typos!! ;) Can't win 'em all...

We don't have an exact date for #3 yet - things are currently a little up in the air. I'll let you know when it's on a definite schedule. Rest assured it WILL come out, and features a character from the future. Very interesting stuff.

Thanks again for seeking it out! Hey if anyone else here has read it, why don't you leave a quick note, too? We'd love to hear from you.

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Kristin
I'll have my copy waiting for me at the shop. Great work, guys! Keep 'em coming.

Hey, Kristin! Did you pick that puppy up yet? What did you think? :)

[Royal Nonesuch]

Ok, my first attempt at a reply got incinerated by some angry internet gods (or some other explanation that I won't understand if detailed to me), so here's my second try. I don't feel like typing that much again, so this one's going to be more concise than what the post was originally supposed to say.


Hey Patrick,

Thanks for the peek into your artistic process. I love seeing stuff like that by artists, especially comic book artists. Also, it's good to hear your collaboration with Marc is so smooth. By the way, if you don't mind my asking, do you have formal training in art and graphics, or are you self-taught? Maybe a little bit of both?

Also, thanks for the heads up on issue #3. Hopefully, issue #2 will get here soon enough.

Keep up the great work!

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Royal Nonesuch
Ok, my first attempt at a reply got incinerated by some angry internet gods (or some other explanation that I won't understand if detailed to me), so here's my second try. I don't feel like typing that much again, so this one's going to be more concise than what the post was originally supposed to say.


Hey Patrick,

Thanks for the peek into your artistic process. I love seeing stuff like that by artists, especially comic book artists. Also, it's good to hear your collaboration with Marc is so smooth. By the way, if you don't mind my asking, do you have formal training in art and graphics, or are you self-taught? Maybe a little bit of both?


Hey, I like doing it! In fact if you like that sort of thing, check out the articles and tutorials by me (and other fantasy/SF artists) over at Epitome Ezine (http://www.gatheringofartists.com/epitome/content/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=63), where I go on and on until you wish I'd just shut the hell up. :)

As to training, it's a little of both. I studied art a lot in High School, and for over a year in college, but most of what I know (and all the computer stuff) is self-taught. Before starting full-time in illustration and comics art early last year I was doing art and art direction in multimedia and Web stuff for several years, so that was good experience too.